GameStick Finishes Kickstarter Campaign at 648% of Funding Goal

GameStick, a tiny gaming console that plugs into a television set, will hit the market in April after a month-long campaign on the crowdsourcing site Kickstarter. The owners of the casual games platform PlayJam have raised $647,658 for the console -- more than six times their $100,000 goal -- through the support of 5,691 backers, who each pledged funds in exchange for first dibs on the product.

GameStick, a tiny gaming console that plugs into a television set, will hit the market in April after a month-long campaign on the crowdsourcing site Kickstarter. The owners of the casual games platform PlayJam have raised $647,658 for the console — more than six times their $100,000 goal — through the support of 5,691 backers, who each pledged funds in exchange for first dibs on the product.

The PlayJam team also let the backers in on the production process. Thanks to customer feedback, the final design for the GameStick (above) is more ergonomic than the original prototype (below), with a tapered shape and extended grips “to better sit in the hand.” Other improvements include additional storage, a wire-free charger, and support for accessories like keyboards, mice, microphones, and cameras.

“We are overwhelmed, excited, grateful, thrilled and everything in between.” said PlayJam CMO Anthony Johnson in a statement.”The campaign has been an incredible success with support from thousands of backers worldwide but this is just the beginning.The feedback from the Kickstarter community has been invaluable in shaping the final product and we will continue to seek input from those that supported us to ensure continued innovation ahead of a global retail launch.”